Do Air Purifiers Remove Odours? (Guide 2025)
Are you struggling with bad odours in your home or office, or workplace that won’t go away, no matter how much you clean or use air fresheners? Whether it’s kitchen odours, pet smells, cigarette smoke, or dampness, these unpleasant scents can remain and affect your comfort. That’s why air purifiers come in.
Air purifiers are best known for removing dust, pollen, and other allergens. Some air purifiers are also designed to target and reduce household odours. Do air purifiers remove odours? Yes, especially when equipped with activated carbon filters, which are effective at absorbing gases and smells from the air.
In this blog, we’ll look at how air purifiers tackle different types of smells and what to consider when picking one to keep your space fresh and clean.
How Air Purifiers Remove Odours
Air purifiers can help remove odours, but their effectiveness depends mainly on the type of technology and filters they use. Here are some of the filters of air purifiers which help in removing odours:
Activated Carbon Filters
The most important component for odour removal is the activated carbon filter. This filter works by adsorbing odour molecules and VOCs, such as those from cooking, pets, smoke, and household chemicals, trapping them on its porous surface. Activated carbon filters need regular replacement to maintain their odour-absorbing effectiveness.
HEPA Filters
While HEPA filters excel at capturing tiny airborne particles like dust, pollen, and allergens, they do not remove gases or odours on their own. However, when combined with carbon filters, HEPA filters can contribute to reducing smells by trapping particulate matter that may carry odours.
Rensair’s Technology
Rensair air purifiers effectively remove odours by combining powerful HEPA filtration, activated carbon VOC adsorption, and UVC light disinfection. This multi-layered approach not only traps and neutralises odour-causing particles and gases but also destroys microorganisms that contribute to unpleasant smells.
Rensair offers a scientifically proven solution to improve indoor air quality and create fresher, healthier environments.
What Types of Odours Can Air Purifiers Remove?
Air purifiers, equipped with activated carbon filters, can help reduce a variety of common household odours. If you’re wondering, do air purifiers remove odours?
They are especially effective when targeting specific types of smells. Here are the main odours they can tackle:
- Cooking Odours: Smells from foods like garlic, onions, curry, fried chicken, fish, and burnt toast can be absorbed and neutralised by activated carbon filters.
- Pet Odours: Air purifiers can reduce smells caused by pet dander, fur, and accidents, helping to freshen homes with dogs, cats, or other animals.
- Smoke Odours: Whether from cigarettes, fireplaces, or wildfires, smoke odours are difficult to remove, but carbon filters can significantly reduce the smell and associated harmful particles.
- Chemical Odours (VOCs): Volatile organic compounds from cleaning products, paints, adhesives, air fresheners, and new furniture release gases that cause unpleasant smells. Activated carbon filters trap these VOCs, improving air quality.
- Mould and Mildew Odours: Musty smells from damp areas like basements or bathrooms can be reduced as air purifiers capture mold, though source remediation is necessary for full removal.
- Other Common Odours: Odours from perfumes, body products, and general indoor air pollutants can also be reduced.
The effectiveness of odour removal depends on the air purifier having an activated carbon or similar gas-adsorbing filter, proper sizing for the room, and regular filter maintenance.
Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Air Purifiers
The following are the factors affecting the effectiveness of air purifiers:
- Room Size: The air purifier must be appropriately sized for the room to ensure it can clean the air effectively. A purifier too small for the space will struggle to remove odours and pollutants efficiently.
- Filter Type: Activated carbon filters are essential for trapping odour-causing gases and VOCs, while HEPA filters remove particles but do not eliminate smells on their own.
- Filter Maintenance: Regular cleaning and timely replacement of filters, especially carbon filters, are crucial to maintain odour removal performance.
- Air Purifier Technology: Advanced technologies provide additional oxidative decomposition of odours and pollutants, increasing purification beyond filtration alone.
- Environmental Conditions: Humidity and temperature affect air quality and purifier efficiency; for example, high humidity can encourage mould growth, requiring more frequent purifier use.
Choosing the Right Air Purifier for Odour Removal
When equipped with the right features. When selecting an air purifier to help with smells, consider the following:
- Activated Carbon Filter: Essential for trapping odour molecules.
- HEPA Filter Combination: For overall air quality improvement by removing particles.
- CADR Rating: Choose a model with a CADR suitable for your room size.
- Smart Features: Some modern purifiers offer air quality sensors, app control, and quiet operation, ideal for UK homes.
- Maintenance and Filter Lifespan: Check how often filters need replacement and their cost.
Rensair air purifiers use hospital-grade H13 HEPA filters that trap 99.97% of airborne particles, including dust, allergens, bacteria, viruses, and mold spores. HEPA filters primarily remove particles.
Air purifiers draw air from all around the unit and release purified air evenly in a 360-degree radial flow. This ensures thorough circulation and efficient removal of odours throughout the room.
Conclusion
Air purifiers can effectively reduce odours when equipped with the right technology – especially activated carbon filters supported by HEPA and UVC. By trapping gases, particles, and microorganisms, they create cleaner, fresher indoor environments. For the best results, choose a purifier sized to your space, maintain filters regularly, and complement use with good ventilation and hygiene practices.
Rensair’s hospital-grade systems combine all these elements, delivering reliable odour control while improving overall indoor air quality. Please feel free to get in touch with our ventilation experts.